When the Tide comes Crashing
by emmals16
Summary: What started out as an attempt at a calming vacation ends with a tsunami ripping the crew apart. Now, they all must both survive the newly treacherous island and find each other before it's too late.
1. Chapter 1

**(Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any related characters)**

* * *

"Aaaah, I can't wait!"  
Brook's music plays in the background as the breeze rustles against the tangerine tree's leaves while Nami tends to them. She smiles warmly after picking a ripe fruit from a branch, examining it before tucking it away with the others. Robin glances up at her from where she waters her flowers, nodding her agreement.

"We haven't had very many moments of relaxation, other than on Sunny," Robin says, "It will be nice."

"Nami!"

The peacefulness of their conversation is very suddenly destroyed by their captain's loud beckons. Nami groans, expression going dark as she steps away from her treasured trees, "What do you want?"

Luffy comes skipping up to the gardens, smile plastered on his face as Usopp and Chopper follow in tow. He skids to a stop in front of the two women— one amused while the other one scowls.

He giggles as he energetically asks, "How much longer?"

She can hear the others on the far deck going about their business. She recalls seeing Franky messing with something earlier and can infer that Zoro is probably snoozing in some corner of the deck by himself. Chopper and Usopp are still running around according the the sounds of glee emanating behind her.

Nami sighs, walking past Luffy without another glance, "I told everyone that it'll take four days to reach Kusukira Springs from the previous island," walking into the kitchen and setting the basket of tangerines on the counter beside Sanji, Nami sweetly asks, "How many days has it been since we left, Luffy?"

Luffy takes a moment to ponder that before innocently admitting, "I don' know."

Nami can't help but sigh once again at the sunshine-like smile that erupts then, running a hand through her orange hair. She isn't even surprised.

"It's been three days, Luffy," Sanji offers without turning from his meal preparations. He very delicately slides a tall glass filled with colorful juice and fruit over to Nami with a gleeful smile on his face, "Enjoy your drink, Nami~swan!"

"Thank you, Sanji-kun," Nami says as she turns back to Luffy whose face has gone red with his in-depth thinking on the information that's been provided for him.

Nami takes pity on him after watching wordlessly for a few moments, "We'll be there tomorrow."

Luffy snaps his fingers, "I knew it!" and runs back through the kitchen doors towards Usopp and Chopper.

Nami sighs for the third time in the short expanse of time, "Why do I feel like this isn't going to be a very _relaxing_ trip?"

"Oh, Nami-san," Sanji hums from the stove, "Don't worry, I won't let anyone bother you during our little vacation!"

Nami huffs, sipping her drink, "That'll be the day…"

/

It's early evening the following day when the Sunny arrives. Just as the townspeople from the previous island explained and practically _advertised_ , the immediate image of the island is that of tall hotels, illuminated casinos, theme parks and gigantic swimming pools. Palms trees line every shore except for the expanse of land set aside for the dock. The streets are narrow to accommodate the several shops and tourist attractions. It's not an island meant for year-round residents— unless of course they work there— but for those seeking a _break_.

The entire crew stares out in excited awe, shouting out the different things catching their eyes.

"Cool! Look at that rollercoaster!"

"The spa~ Oh, I can't wait!"

"Wonder what power source they use for all those rides… and look at that pool!"

"Oh, I can already hear the happy melodies playing!"

The Sunny docks into the harbor, sails being folded up and anchor being released as soon as movement ceases. Bags and necessities are already prepared and next thing anyone else at the harbor knows, nine excited people come charging off of the ship and towards the city.

They would have kept running— no doubt getting seperated in the process— if a woman clad in a simple polo hadn't fearlessly walked in front of them.

Everyone skids to a stop, shouts of surprise erupting from the group.

They all stare at the woman— who simply smiles back in return.

"Welcome to Kusukira Springs! I'll be your guide this evening," She turns to leave, "Please follow me."

Without a second thought, lost in their excitement, the Strawhats all follow.

The woman in a polo leads them to their hotel on the shore, seemingly understanding immediately what they're there for. It's a tremendously tall building almost entirely made out of windows. As they make their way into the large and busy lobby, the polo woman turns to them.

"Here in Kusukira Springs we welcome _all_ visitors. Be you marines, pirates, revolutionaries, criminals, saints, or simple commoners you are free to relax here at our expansive resort," she motions to the receptionist desk, "You will be assigned a room based off of your group's size and then will be allowed to explore the resort. And remember, here you are safe!"

And then, all so suddenly, she's gone.

"That was a little creepy," Zoro murmurs with his arms crossed, glancing around at the throngs of people. Bags are slung around his shoulders in a careless manner and his expression is that of being none-too-pleased about the fact.

Nami nods, "I kind of thought so, too."

"It's as though they are all programmed to lead us to our doom," Robin mumbles, gazing up at the glass walls with a content smile on her face.

Usopp grimaces, "Don't say stuff like that, Robin."

"None of you are even commenting on this _super~_ cool architecture! How did they use all this glass with so little supports?" Franky rubs a large metal hand down a pillar, "Wowie!"

People walk around the group in a hurry to get to the attractions outside, and only moments later does the crew realize that Luffy is gone.

"Luffy!" Nami yells out in outrage alongside Usopp while the others gaze around trying to find the familiar straw hat on his head. The only way they find him in the large crowd is from the sound of his voice yelling excitedly over the semi-quiet people around him.

"— big room! One that we can see the ocean from!" Luffy says as his crew approaches. Chopper is already by Luffy's leg, clinging to it as though if he lets go he'll be swept away, "Oh! One that has a stocked fridge, too! Lots and lots and _lots_ —"

Nami's yanks him away from the desk immediately. She steps into his place with a nervous smile in place as the others behind her try to silence their objecting captain, "Sorry about that! Heh, um... we'd like a—"

"Already got one picked out for ya," the man behind the counter says with a small smile, "Large room, ocean view, stocked refrigerator— with full kitchen, too."

And then he hands them their keys.

Nami, flustered and surprised, takes the keys without a word.

"Your room is 203 on the 15th floor," he says in finality, "Have a nice stay here."

Nami blinks, turning to look at Sanji behind her. He shrugs, looking to Zoro who does the same. Nami looks back at the receptionist who has gone to look at piles of paper records and logs, "Erm...thank you…"

/

The room is both big and incredibly high off the ground. Franky is excited beyond measure— running around the hotel room with Usopp and speaking excitedly about the engineering involved. Everyone else ignores them as they marvel at their own parts of the room.

Two bedrooms— one for the girls and one for the guys. A living room. A full kitchen with a— previously— fully stocked kitchen now being consumed by Luffy. And a balcony with a view of the ocean. Everything is either made out of glass or items colored light blue to add to the clear effect.

"Not like we don't see the ocean every day," Nami mumbles, gazing out the window at the expanse of sea she still adores despite spending a good percentage of her life on it.

"Oi, Zoro!" Luffy yells, "Let's go to the pool! Down stairs! Down stairs! Outside! Outside!"

"I know where it is!"

Robin laughs from where she stands, tapping Chopper on his antler, "Would you like to go, doctor-san?"

Chopper nods excitedly, skipping after Luffy as they head for the door. Usopp follows with his arms full of pool equipment for their devil-fruit users. Brook sings merrily as he runs after the group of pirates.

Nami scowls after them, "Put on some swimming gear, guys!" and when she's ultimately ignored she simply huffs to herself before turning to Robin.

The older woman looks amused, taking a few steps towards the door after her leaving nakama, "Are you coming cook-san? Ms. Navigator?"

Sanji dives over the island countertop in the kitchen, rolling delightfully at Robin's invitation, "I'd be happy to, Robin~chwan!"

"I think I'll stay in the room today," Nami says, gazing back out the window, "It'll be nice to have some quiet time."

Robin nods her understanding, turning away with Sanji following with a loving, "Enjoy your time, Nami-san!"

The door closes with a quiet click and Nami heaves in a breath of air— stretching her arms out around her. Not often does she get quiet time. She's usually surrounded by her crew which is normally loud and rambunctious on the best of days.

Nami heads for the balcony, taking a seat in one of the woven chairs.

/

The pool area has multiple different sections. It's the best way to allow groups more privacy and less contact with other strangers visiting the island.

"I bet that woman was talking that way because of how many people visit daily," Robin muses from her lounge chair, "Thousands every day. It's like she's a recording now— repeating the same thing every day for hours on end."

Zoro looks at her from where he's sitting. His swords lay on the ground beside him and he dared any of the staff surrounding the pool to even try and take them away, "Yeah."

Robin had gotten all the boys to put on swim trunks— mostly because the staff had stated that it was required for the pool-area. She smiled fondly at her captain and nakama playing in the pool only a few feet from her. Chopper laid beside her— panting in the heat as the sun beat down on him.

A loud smack echoes in the small area and she doesn't even look up as a ball goes bouncing past her chair.

"Yosh!" Luffy shouts, "Point for me!"

Usopp goes running after the ball, "Franky, how is he beating us?"

"Don't know, bro," Franky mumbles baffled, watching as the raft they made for the rambunctious captain sways in the water, "Are we going easy on him?"

Usopp jumps back into the pool, "Yeah, that's it! The _Great Captain Usopp_ chose to allow for his opponent to gain a point out of the kindness of his heart!"

"Blegh, liar!"

Sanji mumbles happily when he returns from ogling the other women at the pool, welts on his cheeks that he ignores with a pleased smile, "There's some nice views around here."

Zoro grumbles something under his breath and suddenly the two are going at each other.

The previously breezy atmosphere goes away almost immediately. It's so sudden that no one even really notices.

Zoro and Sanji continue to argue beside Robin in the distance, said woman reading her book as Chopper watches Luffy, Franky and Usopp's antics in the pool. Brook strums his guitar to a small group of onlookers as laughter fills the warm evening air.

The ball goes skipping out of the pool after a particularly hard hit from Franky.

Luffy jumps off his little raft and runs after the ball, wet feet smacking against the concrete ground. Birds squawk restlessly above him— hoards of them flying in the same direction.

This— people notice.

Zoro gazes up at the sky, feeling the breeze suddenly return in gusts of harsh wind. He meets Luffy's eyes that have gone up to meet his, sees the way the young captain's grip tightens on the ball in his hands. Though they don't know what's going on, they both understand how the atmosphere pushes their instincts to feel uneasy.

"Oi, Robin—" Luffy calls just as the pool begins falling silent with anxiousness. Luffy doesn't finish asking his question at the sight of Robin's terrified expression from where she's sat up in her lawn chair.

She stands immediately, taking Chopper in her hands. Sanji begins asking what's wrong when—

"Luffy, we have to—"

The urgent gasp is cut off at the explosive sound of an amazing amount of water crashing against the palm trees against the shore. They begin falling, snapping and crackling as they collide with nearby buildings and the ground.

Usopp looks suddenly pale and Brook feels his hands shake against his guitar strings, "What—

"We have to run!" Zoro shouts in understanding, but all too late.

The water shoots up into the air as it collides with the barricade of the pool grounds— bits of building and tree coming with it menacingly. The impact vaporizes all other sounds. The birds suddenly don't exist. The whispering wind has gone silent.

Luffy feels his heart skip a beat, staring at the water in terrified awe. The ball slips from his grip and the next thing he knows he's zeroing in on the other devil fruit eaters sitting around the pool— frozen in place.

"Zoro!" He screams, "Get them—"

Usopp's body collides with his own with enough force to knock them both to the ground. In the back of his mind, Luffy hears Usopp yell something about 'don't let go of me' and 'hold your breath', but he isn't paying attention to that.

Zoro seems to have gotten the message. Luffy sees Sanji running after Brook just as Chopper jumps into Zoro's arms and the swordsman's knocking Robin into the pool along with the two of them for cover.

Brook and Sanji get covered by the wave first. The brown water consumes them before Sanji has the chance to reach out to their resident skeleton. There's no shouts of panic— no grunt at that impact. One moment they're there, and the next they aren't.

Franky is next, having remained in the far end of the pool he takes to diving underwater as the wave hits.

Zoro's already been underwater with Robin and Chopper when they're covered and the wave is zeroing in on Usopp and Luffy.

Luffy hears his own scream of fear over his companion's, hand gripping onto Usopp like a lifeline as the water approaches them. He's split between the overwhelming need to block Usopp from the oncoming assault and the instinctual desire to hide for cover.

Despite his fear, he somehow manages the former.

The water takes them both— forcing them through trees and rough patches full of sharp metal and stone. And, some point through it all, Luffy _feels_ it.

All contact with Usopp disappears.

He's alone.

* * *

 **Okay!**

 **So, I've been wanting to write a story like this for a while. I just love the idea! Something as catastrophic as a tsunami— and the strawhats having to survive through it. Sure, there was Water 7, but still. I feel it would be especially dangerous considering the ratio of devil fruit eaters to none devil fruit eaters.**

 **Also, I wanted to take the chance at writing with characters that aren't often seen interacting in fanfiction (or not as much as I'd like to see *ahem*).**

 **/**

 **A few things: this chapter will probably be the hardest one for me to write. Writing things that need to be in more detail with the entire crew— while also including individual thought— let's just say I'm often baffled at how many writers can accomplish it so flawlessly. So, that was hard.**

 **The name of the island was chosen as a mix of two Japanese words:**

 **— _Rirakkusu_ \- relax**

 **— _Kusuri_ \- medicine/pharmaceuticals**

 **Which together created~:**

 **— _Kusukira_ Springs!**

 **That doesn't really matter but I wanted to share :)**

 **And as always, I edit my work by myself— often times later at night when I'm about to pass out— so it's very common that I miss mistakes. Please let me know it you see a mistake, if you want to make a suggestion or anything in between.**

 **Will hopefully update within the next few days.**

 **Good day!**


	2. Chapter 2

**(Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any related characters.)**

* * *

 **Nami**

Nami immediately knows something is wrong. Wind doesn't just immediately die down after a breezy day. It doesn't just stop completely— turning the surrounding air deathly silent.

That's her first clue, and it makes her lean forward in her chair— book in hand. She gazes up at the sky in uneasy wonderment. Her second clue is the birds that begin flying towards her, soaring over the building as though they were running from something. Her third clue is the undercurrents of wind that begin blowing once again— stronger than before. It rustles the pages of her book. Her hair flies around her head and she finally stands to get a better view of the atmosphere.

She pales.

On the closest shore she can see the way the water is pulled away— leaving empty beach where water once was.

That's all she has to see before she dropping her book on the ground and running to where the den den mushi of the room is. She has to contact the lobby. Has to warn them of what's coming. Has to get the message to her nakama…

The wave comes too fast.

Her hand barely grazes the den den mushi before the entire building lurches beneath her. She stumbles, clutching at the table and crouches on the ground as the sounds outside become louder than her own thoughts.

The entire building quivers and groans and Nami swears she can hear screams of panic and confusion from the rooms and floors surrounding the one she's in. Somehow, she manages to stand as the building sways and reaches the door going out to the hallway. Outside her room is chaos. Entire groups of people run and shove trying to get to the elevators and the stairwells on the floor. Nami watches for only a moment before she joins in.

She has to push people out of her way to make it to the stairwell— not trusting any of the elevators in the building now.

She bursts through the crowd surrounding the stairwell doorway. All of them are hesitating— blanking out and panicking as to what to do. Nami knows what she has to do, though, and so she charges down the staircase— only stumbling down the first few steps thanks to the heels she chose to wear.

She goes down what she believes to be seven floors before the building trembles once again. Nami's knees slam into the stone stairs and she clings to the railing as the building lurches once again.

"What's happening?" Someone else in the stairwell shrieks over the sound of groaning support beams.

Nami finds her balance again, seeing the man who had asked, "Tsunami!"

Her answer startles everyone around her, but she can't afford to wait around for them to gain an understanding of what she means. She pushes past them, heading for the doorway leading to the 8th floor and tells them, "The building is unstable. Find a way out!"

Nami leaves them, running down the hallway that is also packed with people pooling out to try and find out what is happening.

Her mind wanders to the people outside of the building. The hundreds to thousands to _millions_ of tourists they had seen when they walked in. They all probably took the brunt of the impact.

Nami pauses in her running. She slows to a stop in the middle of the hallway— everyone else walking around her, some even bumping into her in their haste.

"My crew…" she whispers to herself like her brain is trying to connect something that would be better left unthought of, "Everyone…"

She has known they were down at the pool. Outside. Where the wave had just hit.

A shiver runs up her back.

They were so close to the shore, too…

They would be so unprotected by any buildings. The hotel was right at the edge of the dock practically and there were very few structures between the surrounding pools and the ocean.

If they got hit...

' _Get out,'_ She thinks to herself. She has to worry about herself right now. The others— they'll be fine. She knows they'll be fine…

She shakes all other thoughts away and proceeds to continue running.

It's a glass building. It seemed neat at first, of course. Franky wasn't the only one in awe at the hotel— nor was Usopp. It was beautiful in her opinion, but it was also typical that anything with even a speck of beauty would eventually get destroyed.

And also typical— she just _had_ to be inside the structure when it was.

"Everyone needs to get out!" Nami yells as she makes it to the opposite end of the hallway, "Now!"

And they listen so easily it's almost painful for her. They must be truly terrified to listen to some stranger running around a crumbling building.

The lights flicker, the building shakes and something gives way somewhere below her. Nami gasps as she sees the floor begin to crumble a few feet from where she's standing. The glas behind her creaks before a spider-web of cracks bursts across it. The people who had been pool into the hallway sprint into the stairwell in a hurry. But, Nami, in her hurry to search for a way out on the floor, is all so suddenly trapped.

She tries to measure how far she'd have to jump to not fall right through the floor, but right as she's preparing to make her leap more of the floorboards crumble away. Nami huffs to herself in fright, turning to gaze out the broken window.

 _There…_

She sees a neighboring building only meters away. She could make that jump...could catch herself…

Without thinking, she undoes her clima tact and slams it into the window. Pieces fly into the air outside and Nami shields her face in case some decide to fly towards her as well. She's acting on instinct. She knows she's alone in this situation— no one is coming to help her. If she does nothing then she'll fall through the crumbling floor.

Or, she'll fall when the building's weak inner supports finally give.

Nami quickly decides that neither option sound preferable.

She leans uneasily out the hole in the window she's created. It's a straight drop down to what at one point was simple concrete. Now, it's flooded with water and debris. The water crashes into the corners of the alleyway between the hotel and the neighboring building— brown tinted water splashing up.

Nami stumbles away from the edge of the window, panicking all of a sudden.

"Heeeeeeeeelp!" she yells without actually believing she'll gain an answer in return. Everyone has already left her there— too concerned for their own lives.

She knows what she had been looking for, though, previously to the floor crumbling. There would be no logic in going to the lobby— she knows that would be flooded. People would be getting blocked up there from everyone trying to escape through the front doors. And the roof would be no form of escape either— especially if the building truly was about to collapse from the force of the wave. The building is too tall— she could never make a jump…

But, on the floor she's at now…

Nami squints at the neighboring building, her lip between her teeth and hands clasping her clima tact like a lifeline. The space between the two buildings is maybe three meters wide as far as her guess goes, and she assumes she's a few stories higher.

"That works in my favor…" she mumbles hushedly as though trying to convince herself, hopping on the balls of her feet, "Okay. Okay, here we go…"

She takes two steps back, takes a deep breath and charges for the broken window.

She may have stopped herself right at the point she's supposed to jump if the situation weren't so urgent and if she had another possible escape. She always liked and appreciated safe routes, but she doesn't know any other way now.

And so Nami goes flying through the air— frantic screams erupting from her lungs and her legs flailing beneath her. She sails down. Her eyes never leave her target as she makes it over the alley until—

Her legs fold underneath her upon impact and her knees hit the ground hard. She rolls with the motions, a single grunt escaping her as the air is forced from her lungs. She comes to a stop, laying on the roof in a shivering heap.

"I made it…" she whispers, hugging her clima tact closer, "I made it…"

 **Luffy**

Luffy's vision is overcome by darkness. He isn't quite sure if it's the fact that he's underneath debris filled water or that he's got his eyes closed— which he isn't even sure of. All he registers through the numb weakness brought on by his devil fruit is the structure between his hands— the single thing preventing him from being swept away into the rapids.

He claws his way up— the thrumming of the waves deafening under water. He can hear metal clanking together and the _swooshing_ of _things_ cutting the water off from where it tries to collapse everything in its path.

Luffy pulls himself further upward on whatever is between his hands, seeing rays of light in the dimness as he proceeds to.

The air in his lungs rapidly deplete, and he finds himself biting his lips closed to prevent any from escaping prematurely. His nails dig into the structure— something semi-soft. Not metal. Not stone.

It's a terrible struggle but finally— _finally_ , his head breaks through the water…

And everything gets so much louder.

There's screams. Somewhere in the distance he hears them and only for a split second does he panic about _that_ — neck twisting as he tries to find the source of the sound. He calms moments later realizing that he doesn't recognize the voice— they aren't nakama.

Nakama.

His main focus right now.

That, and holding onto the... _tree_ , between his hands. He's trembling. He realizes this with only some interested before he pulls himself towards it into a hug, wrapping his arms around it as tightly as he can manage.

Only then does he get a good look at his surroundings.

Uprooted trees, torn-apart metal, vehicles, signs, _boats_ — everything he remembers seeing in piece when they walked to the hotel and to the pool now floated down the streets in the deep water. He hears the groans of metal in the distance and senses the crashing of buildings that are too weak to hold up against the wave.

He hears crying children, and yet…

"Usopp!" he shouts, ignoring all other thoughts about the world around him, "Hey, Usopp!"

He had him in his grasp. They were holding onto each other… Usopp even told him _not to let go_ , and he did.

Luffy hugs the tree closer, feeling his hold growing weaker as the seconds ticked on. He couldn't stay here forever.

Glancing around, he notes that there's not much to grab ahold of. If he could gather enough strength he might be able to stretch far enough to latch onto a building or something, but the water was draining every ounce of energy he had.

As if to prove this, Luffy almost slips back into the water's undertow.

"Damn…" he mumbles, looking in the water around him again.

His blood suddenly freezes as he catches sight of bruised and battered limbs sticking out of the water in a mess of twisted seaweed only meters away from him. Their owner drift away down the flooded street, the current making them move far too quickly for Luffy to even try to recognize them.

The sight is enough to make him _move_ , though.

Even the possibility…

"Usopp!" He shouts again, using the rest of his strength to kick off of the tree and grasp for a hefty-sized plank of wood. His fingers latch onto the edge of it, head going under water along with the plank for a moment. Water floods his nose and when he resurfaces he finds himself hacking and coughing and trying to find solace from the weakness overwhelming him. Luffy struggles to locate the arms he had seen before, finding them rushing away from him in their clump of debris as the currents pull stronger.

"Usopp!" he pulls himself more on the plank of wood, "Robin! Zoro! Sanji! Brook! Franky! Chopper!"

He finds himself calling out to everyone, hoping for an answer.

And so he receives.

"Luffy!"

The voice breaks through Luffy's conscience. He gasps, almost letting go of the wooden plank beneath his fingers. But, he managed to hang on and searches the surrounding rapids for the voice's owner.

He doesn't have to look too hard.

"Luffy, right—" Usopp is viciously dunked before he can finish, struggling to make it back to the surface. When he does he's mostly seen as flailing arms and terrified eyes, "I'm right here!"

 _He's so close_ , Luffy thinks as he tries kicking towards Usopp. The water continues to be pulled down by his devil fruit's detriment and suddenly feels himself slipping.

"Grab on to me!" Luffy shouts quickly, trying to provide something for Usopp to hang onto even if he himself slips free from its safety. The two's fingers brush against each others, and suddenly Luffy's got a hold of Usopp's hand and vice-versa— the two of them pulling as hard as they can to get closer.

And then Luffy's hand slips.

Water encapsulates both of them, Luffy being without the support he desperately needs and Usopp not ready to bear the weight he's _used_ to dragging through the ocean. The two of them sink to the bottom quickly— only staying together because of their conjoined hands.

It's terrifying for both of them. So dark, and they can only hear one another grunting beneath the water along with the groaning of nearby structures under strain.

Their hold on eachother stays strong for only a few moments before it, too, is under strain. Luffy's weakness begins to get the better of him. He starts slipping from Usopp's grasp despite his attempts not to.

They're thrown around, forced through underwater fields of shrapnel and splinters, pushed into corners and poles and benches, catching on ropes and branches and wires.

There's blood in the water— they both know it, but neither know who from.

And the bombardment continues— shrieks from strangers echoing in the depths of the water as they go through the same thing.

Luffy almost thinks it'd be better if he is let go. Usopp's struggling enough. He's barely staying afloat— Luffy saw the floundering his nakama had been going through. Luffy would just weight him down _more_. Make everything _more_ difficult than it already was.

The water nearly rips him away from Usopp's grasp— Luffy almost lets it— but another hand wraps strongly around Luffy's forearm, wrenching the young captain into a cold chest beneath the water.

He feels air on his face, hears Usopp yelling _something_ , and then feels them suddenly make impact with the building.

Then he feels nothing.

 **Zoro, Robin, and Chopper**

Despite Zoro's efforts, the impact of the wave wipes him and his two anchors clean out of the safety of the pool. He knows beside him that the same has happened to Franky and even catches sight of the bulky form soaring through the water before disappearing down a seperate street.

Zoro pushes himself off the ground from beneath the surging water, bursting into the air with a desperate intake of breath. He quickly takes care to force Robin and Chopper's head onto his shoulders and listens to their panicked breaths as well.

He has no time to dwell on them. Has to think quickly as more and more water comes pouring towards them in outpourings of water. An uprooted tree accompanies it.

What might seem like a hazard for Zoro speaks more as a sudden opportunity.

He kicks sporadically, turning away from the water and tree coming towards them to make the impact less intense. He watches it closely as he comes closer and closer until—

He lunges for the tree, it being thin enough for him to lay most of his upper body over. It's thick enough for him to successfully drape his two devil fruit users over as well so he can more easily calculate his next course of action.

He isn't given very much time, however.

He sees it apparently just as Robin does. Up ahead, the water comes shooting out from an intersecting street creating opposing currents. The water twists and molds into one pool of rapids. Water splashes towards the sky in what could almost be described as geysers.

"Damnit!" Zoro swears, twisting towards Robin and Chopper who both look back at him.

Chopper has tears in his wide-blown eyes and Robin seems to be preparing herself.

"It will rip this tree apart, swordsman-san," Robin says in her typical calm manner, though Zoro hears the tremor in the tone.

"I know," Zoro grumbles, taking ahold of her and Chopper as they approach the rampaging waters. He grinds his teeth, knowing how much of a pain in the ass the attempt to keep them all afloat was going to wind up being.

"We're going to drown!" Chopper cries, hugging Zoro's neck desperately, but both Robin and Zoro ignore him.

"Zoro," Robin says, pointing towards and upcoming building, "Can you jump for that?"

Zoro looks and sees the building she's referring to. It's shorter than most others in the proximity, but still far too high for him to make it to the roof from the waters.

"I can't make it to the roof."

"You won't have to," she responds, "I will catch us. Can you do it?"

Zoro grunts, making to stand on the uprooted tree beneath them, "Yeah."

The tree continues to speed down the street towards the rapids, but Zoro no longer pays attention to the crashing waves nearby— he locks eyes with his target and when the time comes…

He jumps.

Chopper's screams are loud in his ear as they soar through the air for the building. He has no free hand to catch them, and so the Zoro feels his face and chest make contact with the building's wall with no way for him to shield himself.

They begin falling back towards the water, but Robin does as she promised.

Multiple disembodied hands wrap around Zoro's arms and legs, pinning him to the building in an award way.

Chopper's terrified sniffles and the water crashing beneath them become far too loud in their silence.

In the distance, the three of them watch as the tree they had previously been standing on turns to splinters upon impact with the opposing current.

Zoro billows out a sigh, regarding Robin with a glance, "Now how do we get to the roof?"

 **Sanji and Brook**

He only slightly registers the fact that someone is shouting.

That being said, he isn't exactly sure _who_ or _why_ that someone is shouting. Nor _what_ the shouting is about and for.

As always, his curiosity gets the better of him and consciousness slowly comes back to him. The light around them is the first thing he notices— the figure in the middle of the light is the next.

The figure's mouth moves, a dull sound escaping.

The ringing in his ears makes everything difficult to interpret… though he has no ears—

"Yohoho~" he whispers in slight humor, and the form above him slumps at the sound. Blond hair and pale skin. Brook's aware that he knows this person, and only _really_ knows this person when he hears him speak.

"You damn skeleton," Sanji mumbles to himself, moving out of Brook's line of sight, "a dead man pretending to be dead…"

Brook slowly sits up, taking in his surroundings. The water around them is of course his first clue as to what has happened. The dampness of both his and Sanji's clothing and hair is a second— especially given how neither of them had taken to going in the pool beforehand.

 _Before...what?_

"Erm, Sanji-san," the cook grunts in response, "What has happened exactly? I am afraid I do not remember."

Sanji regards him slowly, sighing and running a hand through his damp hair, "A shitty wave hit us. A… tsunami? Hell, I don't know!"

The cook motions to their surroundings and only then does Brook notice how they're sitting in what appears to be a small row boat. The bottom of it is filled with water and Brook isn't sure if it's from them climbing in or water constantly coming in from some hole in it…

Brook doesn't like either despite him being almost confident it's both.

"All I know is we were under water for a solid minute and when I finally managed to surface and get us on something, your ass thought it would be a brilliant idea to try and be a true skeleton," Sanji scrubs a hand down his face irritably, breathing out a shaky sigh, "weren't responding to my questions, weren't moving...damnit."

Brook squirms where he sits, finger tapping anxiously at his nakama's distress, "Sanji-san…"

The cook sniffs, mpotioning around them once again, "I haven't caught sight of any of the others yet. Nami-san was at the hotel, but I don't see that, either." he says it like he's avoiding his previous outlash, "Either we've floated far enough away to not recognize anything, or…"

Brook says nothing as Sanji twists one of his hands into fists, his other one laying in his lap protectively. Brook almost wants to ask about it but doesn't in the end. He simply waits for his nakama to continue.

Sanji breaths shakily out through clenched teeth, "Or that damn flimsy building got knocked down…"

The silence between them it loud in itself. And Brook finds himself being overcome by sudden fear as he considers the wellbeing of everyone not around them.

"Sanji-san, I saw Luffy-san yelling for Zoro-san...but after that—"

"The marimo ran for Robin-chan and Chopper. I don't know what happened to Franky, Usopp or our damn captain."

The last few words come out as a choked whisper, and Brook suddenly realizes that his companion at the moment was in some sort of state of shock. It was strange to witness. Often times Brook found the cook to be indifferent to most situations...other than those having to do with women of course.

Brook taps his fingers against the wood of the boat, "Sanji-san, I am confident in our nakama's ability to survive this."

Sanji says nothing, curling further around the hand in his lap.

"So am I."

* * *

 **And our man Franky shall kick off the next chapter!**

 **I will be updating every weekend. I am still in school and it's just started back up again a few weeks ago so I'm still getting used to new classes and what not.**

 **I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Feel free to drop a review!**

 **Good day!**


	3. Chapter 3

**(Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any related characters.)**

* * *

 **Franky**

Water dribbles off of his metal limbs in long rivulets. Everything on him is damp and cold, his hair hanging down when it usually sticks up profoundly. Wires stick out between the joints in his arms and out the socket of his left eye which had managed to get busted in during his struggle moments earlier.

"Yeesh," he mumbles to himself as his feet sink down into swampland that had previously been a nicely mown hill, "That was dramatic."

Around him lay crumbling buildings and broken ships and boats. It seems, if he were to guess correctly, this was the place all larger pieces of debris were washed to. Meaning that every time a building had been knocked over due to the tidal wave's wraith, or a ship was sunk underneath the water's weight, or any other type of infrastructure became broken away it came here.

The entire island was split in two by a large mountain formation dividing the land in half. They had only seen the half taken up by the resort. The land there formed a sort of valley, and so any debris that got swept up by the wave would inevitably be stopped from going further by the mountain.

That is, at least, Franky's best guess. Everywhere else he had walked had nothing like the large forms he found at the edge of the valley. He had walked plenty of the valley's length already. His own weight had managed to make being swept up by the wave easier than it might have been otherwise— the thought, when taking into account his nakama's size in comparison, makes Franky tense.

Once he had managed to make it to dry land, he had started navigating the flooded streets— sometimes having to swim through the water he had previously tried so hard to escape from, just to make it to the other side. He had been searching for his nakama, like he knew they'd be doing for him.

If they needed help, he wanted to be there.

Now, Franky supposes, he successfully finds a crew member— despite them not being _alive_ per say.

"Sunny Go!"

His voice sounds loud in the silent area, but it's quiet against the blood rushing to his ears. Franky makes a mad run for the wrecked ship dozens of meters away, tipped on its side and in poor condition.

Just from running up to it, Franky could tell that the rooms inside the ship were probably a wreck, and the garden on the ships deck pretty much didn't exist anymore. The center mast had survived, and there didn't appear to be any major damage to the hull— only minor cracks and a few busted planks.

Franky slows to a stop before his creation, grimacing angrily at the condition the tsunami has left it in. Should they have been in the middle of the ocean, Franky is confident Sunny would have held up remarkably against the wave. Now, though, the wave had slammed the ship into dry land— smashing it through buildings and into a mountain.

Adam wood, much to Franky's relief, is strong. The Sunny Go withstood the abuse despite the awful conditions.

He had longed to find a nakama of his.

He succeeded.

Now, he had some repairs to make.

 **Nami**

She isn't sure how long she lays there for. Nami just knows that, in the end, nothing much really changes from the time she lands on the roof and the time she decides to sit up. She manages to sit upright, arms shaking as she does so from the adrenaline still pumping through her veins.

Her knees are scraped, as well as her elbows but she doesn't even feel the pain. Her entire conscious thought is preoccupied with trying to replay through everything she had just rushed through.

All at once, she's reminded of a thought she had had previously— she gasps loudly, scrambling up to stand on wobbly legs. It takes her only a moment to make her way to the edge of the building.

Finally, since the moment she first saw the signs of what was to happen, Nami is allowed to let it _truly_ sink in. She has the time and the atmosphere to properly think about her crew and the people inside the hotel still— trapped.

She gazes down at the water. She watches as it slithers down every street and rampages through windows and doors. She listens to the shouts and screams echoing from far corners of the city. She senses as buildings crumble on their foundations.

"Oh…" she whispers, knowing exactly what fate her nakama were granted while she was escaping the hotel. Coldness overwhelms her senses and her throat clenches painfully.

"Oh no…"

"Hey!"

Nami jumps, hands clenching into fists as a woman's voice shouts in the distance. It isn't a panicked shout, nor one of pleading. So, when Nami turns to find the voice's owner, she isn't exactly sure what to expect.

A few buildings over, Nami sees a large group of people looking over to her in shock. Their mouths are agape, eyes wide. And only when the voice repeats the call does Nami see the woman at the front of the pack.

Nami recognizes her instantly.

"Hey," she whispers, taking a few steps towards the other end of the roof she's on, "Hey, I know you!"

Their guide… the woman who had showed them the way to the hotel she had just escaped from. Nami hadn't really known her, never even learned her name but seeing the familiar face sends an odd sense of relief through her.

The guide leans over the edge of the building her and the group of other people are on, "We're going to help you over here, so just hang on!"

Nami only nods mutely, and she realizes faintly that the woman is different then she had been while guiding them earlier. The few words the woman had spoken had been almost robotic in nature— monotonous and bland. Like a machine without personality. Now, she yelled to Nami with vitality in her tone. Something almost maternal in the way she looked to Nami and ordered the men surrounding her around.

Nami watches as two men secure a wooden plank across the gap between the two buildings. They do this twice, having someone hold the plank while the other walks across and secures it from the other side for the other. The third time they secure the plank, Nami realizes that she's going to be expected to cross it herself multiple times. She feels her heart beating in her chest in a fast rhythm at the thought.

One of the men jump onto the plank, but don't wander all the way across, "Give me your hand."

Nami is almost inclined to say 'no' and simply turn away, but she quickly realizes that she has no other way of getting off of the roof she's found herself on. No staircase leading down— no ladder. No anything.

So Nami takes the offered hand and slowly makes her way over the abyss beneath her. If she mumbles curses or threats or anything of that nature, the two men helping her never mention it as they repeat the sequence again.

On the third venture over the plank, Nami feels more acquainted and comfortable than she had the first time doing it. Perhaps that's where she fails.

One heeled foot tips dangerously and Nami canters to the side. She can't correct herself before she goes falling off the plank. Her breath escapes her. Her shrill cry is the only sound she can make before her arm is jerked violently upward and her entire body slams into the side of the building.

She grunts softly, quickly analysis what had happened and feeling herself take a relieved intake of air at the sight of the hands wrapped around her wrist.

It's the woman's hands preventing her from falling down to the watery grave below, Nami realises. Nami's free hand flails helplessly upward, grabbing hold of the woman's wrist as though that would keep their hands from separating.

The woman grunts something at someone beside her, and Nami suddenly feels more hands on her arms— lifting her up and over the building's edge.

All the hands release her and the first thing she manages to do, frazzled as she is, is rip her heels off and chuck them over the side of the building with an admonishing huff. Only a moment later does she hang her head, "Those were expensive…"

"Good to see you're alright, Ms," the woman says from in front of Nami, breathless, "When I had gone to evacuate the building before the wave hit, I didn't realize how little time we actually had. So many people are still trapped in there...but you made it out, at least."

Nami's eyes wide, and her face snaps up at the meaning behind the woman's words, "Wait...what do you mean 'before the wave hit'...?"

The woman looks around at the crowd surrounding her, an uncertain and almost afraid expression coming across her face. She looks to the two men who had previously helped Nami across the buildings separating them, quietly pleading for _something_.

Nami speaks up before the woman has a chance to answer, "You _knew_ the wave was going to hit? How could you have— why…" Nami takes a shaky breath, placing her hands onto her lap, "Why didn't you say anything?"

The woman waves a dismissive hand, "Please, I'll explain everything. I promise."

Nami looks doubtful, rubbing her hands down her arms as she continues to kneel on the ground— orange hair hanging into her face in a tangled mess.

The woman kneels before Nami, trying to smile comfortingly at her, "My name is Tammi. I'm going to help you." 

**Usopp and Luffy**

Usopp muscles burn when he finally manages to find somewhere to climb up onto. A low building— one covered with matted sticks and debris that had washed up onto it from when the water had plowed into it at full force.

By the time Usopp is pulling himself and his captain up onto it, he's full out panicking. His breath is coming in short little puffs, sobs exploding out of his mouth between them. He doesn't have an ounce of control over it.

But, from the wave washing them away from their nakama, being sucked under water so ruthlessly for dozens of minutes without end, and being forced to yank a limp Luffy over a cold building's ledge— Usopp sees nothing not worth sobbing over.

"C'mon!" Usopp gasps, shoving his arms under Luffy's arm pits and pulling up with all his might, "C'mon, Luffy…"

Luffy's wet skin is slippery and Usopp being just as soaked doesn't help. He struggles to get a firm grip on his young captain and fails at heaving him up multiple times. Finally, with one more gruff pull upward, Usopp manages to lift past the building's edge and is able to pull Luffy onto the roof securely.

He settles him down on the debris covered roof, trying to get a handle on the tears flowing out from his eyes. He heaves in breath after breath, sniffing and spluttering to try and clear the water crying-induced snot from his airways.

"You're okay," he mumbles during a break between sobs, hands hovering over Luffy's torso and face— examining all the scrapes and wounds he has no way to mend, "You're okay, right?"

When no response is made Usopp finds himself grasping Luffy's shoulders before he has time to think about it, shaking him nonsensically, "C'mon! The Pirate King can't die from a _little wave_. Get up!"

No change.

Usopp looks numbly down at the too-still captain, noting the blue tinted lips and the ashen complexion, "I don't know what to do…"

Usopp suddenly grows angry, clenching his hands together in front of him, "So, what? Is this it then?"

He takes hold of Luffy's vest in one hand, giving his unconcious captain a half-hearted shake, "The one island we actually _want_ to go to and you decide to _die_? What type of—"

Usopp's face is only centimeters from Luffy's, "You can't just _do_ that, you bastard! You can't—"

With his emotions at their peak, Usopp viciously turns to Luffy and smacks him hard across the face. Luffy's head snaps to the side and right then and there two dark eyes snap open blearily in shock. His chest jerks off the ground before water begins flowing freely from his choking body.

Luffy's body writhes on the ground, gasps and spluttering sounding painfully from his previously silent form. Fingers claw at the ground, eyes blinking sporadically from the sun dipping closer to the horizon to Usopp kneeling beside him.

Usopp panics, hands waving spastically in the air before he begins tending to his uncoordinated best friend. He shoves an arm under Luffy's shoulders, tipping him over to the side so he can dispel the water more easily. Usopp may not know much about CPR and the other methods used to help a drowned person, but he knows when to do that much.

As Luffy finishes coughing out the water he'd managed to inhale, Usopp clings to his shivering body like a vice. His fingers claw into the rubbery skin of Luffy's shoulders, face implanted into the cold back as though he can effectively hide the tears still flowing down his face.

"Ah, Luffy…" he sobs, "You _scared_ me…"

They sit like that for multiple moments, Usopp with Luffy sprawled across his battered knees. The two of them looking nothing short of a complete mess.

Only when a clumsy hand smacks against Usopp's forehead does the sniper remove his face from the safety of Luffy's back and look down at the pale boy.

"Hey, Luffy, you okay?" he asks uncertainly, leaving his firm grasp on the young captain's shoulders. He doesn't think he'd be able to convince himself to remove his hands even if he wanted to.

Luffy blinks heavily, blinking away the blurriness in his vision and grimacing at the pounding in his head, "Wh-what…?"

Usopp doesn't say anything as Luffy gazes around at their surroundings. It's slow, but recognition eventually begins shining in his dark eyes as he sees the state his nakama is in and smells the familiar scent of salt. He sits up with a start, more coughing being initiated at the sudden movement to accompany Usopp's startled outcry.

"Luffy, just take it easy, would ya?"

"We can't—" Luffy places his hands on the ground, climbing to his knees, "We can't stay here, Usopp."

Usopp pales as Luffy ineffectively attempts to stand, "S-sure we can! Why can't we, at least for a few minutes…"

Luffy gets to his feet, swaying there for a moment, "We need to …find the others."

"Okay," Usopp hastily says as Luffy takes a step towards the building's edge, "Alright, we will, but—"

If possible, Usopp pales even more as he gets a good look at his captain's bare back. Just like with his chest and legs, and even Usopp's own body, there are scrapes and nicks littering the flesh of Luffy's back, but further down on his side, big enough for Usopp to have surely been able to notice earlier, reside a gaping, bloodied hole the size of Usopp's fist.

Usopp's mouth bobs like a fish's before he's suddenly jumping to his feet, "G-geez, Luffy!"

Luffy doesn't know what's happening when Usopp almost desperately grabs onto his upper arm, preventing him from moving further. Luffy grimaces, looking up to Usopp with the pounding reverberating through his skull. _Had he hit his head? That wouldn't matter, he was rubber._

Luffy looks up to Usopp questionably, "You look like crap."

Usopp barely prevents himself from laughing at that, given their current circumstances. But Luffy seems out of it so he doesn't reprimand him for noticing that about Usopp but not himself. Plus, Usopp knows how Luffy is. The entire crew does, this is nothing new.

"Same to you," Usopp says lightly, "But, listen, okay?"

Luffy doesn't react and simply stares at Usopp. It surprises the sharp shooter initially before Usopp realizes that Luffy's doing what was asked of him— listening.

Usopp steadies his voice, blinking away leftover tears from earlier, "You know our nakama as well as I do. They're probably looking for us, too by now. So, we should just stay here for the time being."

Luffy's blank expression crumbles into something akin to irritation, "But…"

"We'll look around when you're steadier on your feet, alright?"

Luffy looks unsure, but Usopp takes advantage of the pause to swiftly knock the unsteady captain's feet out from under him. Luffy gasps, but Usopp merely keeps hold of his arms and lowers Luffy back to the ground.

"Just rest for now, captain," Usopp says, squatting in front of where Luffy sits leaning against the wall of the roof.

Luffy gives a halfhearted glare before his eyes begin to flutter closed.

In the newfound silence, Usopp sighs to himself, glancing across the rooftop as if to measure up their supplies. He knows they have none. They don't have supplies, they don't have a way to contact their nakama, and, as far as he's aware now, they don't have a safe way off this roof.

Usopp resigns himself to merely sit beside his captain and let what he must do in the future happen when it does.

If he is still afraid, he tries not to let it show.

* * *

 **So, the update is almost two days late (it's late evening Monday so technically not two quite yet *wink*). But, I hope everyone enjoyed regardless.**

 **From this chapter forward, there will only be three-four perspectives— kind of like how Franky was left out of last chapter. This is because some of the storylines I have lined up aren't as detailed or long as other ones. Nami's and Luffy/Usopp's will probably be the ones that are longest for their own reasons, and everyone else's will be shorter for their own reasons.**

 **Also, on a completely unrelated note simply because I'm excited, I got accepted into a University on a huge scholarship! Think of that as an excuse for my lateness if you want, I suppose, because I was too relieved about financial help to think of much else.**

 **Fear not! I shall, hopefully, have the next update out on time.**

 _ **¡Ciao!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**(Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any related characters.)**

* * *

 **Zoro, Robin, and Chopper**

Zoro is used to moving weight around.

He trains for it, after all. He uses heavy weights to practice constantly in his free time— when he's not sleeping of course. So, feeling the burning of his muscles isn't exactly a new thing for him. In a situation like this, though, the burning sensation only serves to aggravate his already thin patience.

Zoro grunts, "Would you hurry up?"

Robin ignores him, squirming in his grasp to get her arms in front of her more properly. She had managed to summon up some arms before, but the amount of concentration it took when her arms were pressed harshly into Zoro's chest was making it practically impossible for her to create even more to help them onto the roof.

Chopper is on Zoro's other side, sniffling into his green hair while he waits for something to happen. His fur is soaked, the water is making him feel weak and queasy, and his nose is preventing him from smelling anything besides snot, tears and sea water. So, accepting all of those things in his own way, he simply clings to Zoro.

Robin resituates herself swiftly, looking up at their intended target above and crossing her arms in their typical way. Multiple arms spawn out of the wall and grab hold of Zoro by his armpits and hefting him upward along with the other two. Their feet sway in the empty air beneath them as the arms pass Zoro to each other up the length of the wall.

As soon as Zoro gets the opportunity, he catches the ledge of the building with his own hand— making sure Chopper has a strong enough hold on him. Together with Robin's help, they manage to climb up onto the roof without much difficulty.

The three of them collapse as soon as their feet touch the ground, sitting in a circle on the vacant roof. Their clothes cling to them, Robin's hair surrounding her head in soaked ringlets and clumps. She runs a hand through the mess, trying to smooth it down as best as she can.

Chopper cries out, wrapping his arms tightly around Zoro's bicep, "Waaaaaah, that was so sc-scary!"

Zoro grimaces, looking from Chopper's quivering form to Robin's tired eyes. He realizes very suddenly that he's been put in charge of getting them out of this situation safely— which is no doubt very much more difficult given their particular weaknesses to water. He was put in charge the moment Luffy called out his name before the wave hit. He'd been put in charge before, but this situation is unlike any they'd been faced with before.

Zoro sighs, pushing himself up to stand, "C'mon, we need to—"

The unnatural lightness to Zoro's side stops him before he even realizes what's wrong. When he turns to look at the offending place at his side, Zoro sees emptiness where three swords would usually lie. He feels the air escape him, knowing for certain that they were swept up in the wave as well.

Robin seems to realize that something has struck the swordsman emotionally, and it doesn't take her very long to realize what. The way he slowly rests his hand on his side is the only explanation she needs.

She slowly stands herself, grabbing Chopper as she does and holding him close to her soaked self. She gently places a tender hand on the swordsman's shoulder, lightly squeezing it in kind encouragement and support. She knows how important the blades are to Zoro, and she knows that his remorse is probably more than she'll ever understand for something so materialistic.

Like losing a limb, she muses, glancing at the swordsman's scarred face, or an eye.

Zoro turns to look at her in bewilderment, and she only smiles sadly, "Lead the way."

He had been distracted. He hadn't noticed that they were missing because he was so focused on keeping them safe— something that, even without Robin's show of gentle understanding, he knows he would do even if he had known he had left his swords behind to be thrown through the waters.

"Do you—" he clears his throat, shrugging Robin's hand away, " Do you have an idea how to get out of here?"

Robin blinks in surprise at the swordsman's request for her opinion. She sets her chin atop Chopper's head, gazing out at the surrounding cityscape— all flooded. Many of them having people residing on them already. Probably other survivors— people who made it out of the water as some point just as they had.

"We must reunite with the others, yes?"

Zoro nods, following her gaze, "Yeah."

"Then, perhaps we have two options, then," she points to the area behind them— buildings lining the edge of the city where the mountains begin sloping upward, "We find safe land where others will no doubt be herding together with the same idea, or," she motions to the dozens of others lining the rooftops around them, "We go with a group: safety in numbers."

"Or, they'll just slow us down."

"At the moment, swordsman-san," Robin begins to reprimand gently, "We are no doubt the slowest ones here."

When Zoro looks to her in surprise, Robin grimaces almost apologetically and looks away, "Whatever you decide…"

Zoro considers her words, looking at the strangers in the distance. They wield large sticks— nets, he realizes. They catch drifting belongings. Zoro doesn't know exactly what they're looking for exactly when they go to catch the items in the water, but, judging from the people coughing on their knees beside them, they aren't just catching things.

"'Safety in numbers', eh?"

Chopper sniffs once, looking to Zoro with tear-filled eyes, "They might be able to help us find our nakama."

Robin smiles, gazing at the strangers, "Take it from someone like me, swordsman-san. Help is not a shameful thing to require."

Zoro grimaces once again, moving to the edge of the building hesitantly. He gazes down at the space between the building they're on and the neighboring one. The distance can be made if they jump, but Robin's abilities could also help. That's the least of his worries, though, "Fine, but if it goes South, I'm blaming you, woman."

Robin chuckles, "Alright."

With Robin's devil fruit ability, they manage to cross the threshold between the two buildings without trouble.

"Might I ask why you are so hesitant, swordsman-san?" Robin asks quietly as she forms another bridge of limbs.

Zoro steadily steps up onto it, snaking his way across, "During disasters people tend to get desperate to get to safety."

Robin watches Chopper scurry across and then begins following them, "I suppose that's true. And you're worried they might try something with us in order to get themselves away from this situation?"

"I don't really know," Zoro mumbles, walking to the other side of the new building as Robin dismisses her previously created bridge. The strangers seem to have taken notice of them now, and are pointing at them— speaking to each other. It makes Zoro glare at them suspiciously, "But, don't trust them until we find the others. You got that, Chopper?"

The reindeer gapes, "Why are you asking me?"

Zoro huffs, leaving Chopper staring after him in a flustered heap of matted fur and irritation. Zoro will take an annoyed Chopper over a crying and frightened one any day.

"They see us," Robin says, and Zoro merely nods.

"Hey, there!" and older man shouts across the gap between their buildings. Zoro doesn't respond, waiting for Robin to create another bridge so they can get a closer look. When she does, he eases himself over the steep fissure and watches the group of people begin whispering among themselves at the sight of Robin's ability.

Typically, Zoro would be more comfortable with approaching strangers. Approaching someone who's not imposing or threatening is nothing compared to approaching someone who is, but this case is different for Zoro. He doesn't trust really anyone ever. There's always a shred of doubt when there's an ally. His nakama are the only ones whom he'd trust with anything and everything, but at the moment Zoro's on edge.

He had no weapons and their surrounded by water. That's a missing tool for him and a potentially deadly outcome for the others should these strangers prove to be a threat. Right now, he feels he can't be too careful.

"Hey," the same made hollers once Zoro gets to the next building's edge and glares over. The stranger doesn't seem to notice the suspicion, however, and continues on as confidently as he had prior, "Do you need help."

"Where are you headed?" Zoro responds, noting how Chopper and Robin had surrounded him on both sides.

The man leans heavily on the building's edge, gazing at the water separating him from Zoro, Robin, and Chopper, "There's a triage set up on the far side of the island— right on the other side of the mountain. We're going to be heading there once we're done scouting for more survivors," The man motions to himself and his companions who continue going about collecting items from the waters, "You're welcome to—"

"We'll be coming with you."

Zoro's straightforward reply surprises the man, but nothing becomes of his brash distrust. The stranger simply smiles and nods once, resuming his work.

"Alright then."

 **Nami**

"Then you can help me by explaining!"

Nami's voice is shrill, eyes wide and voice revealing the anguish she's trying to hide. Her bare toes curl in on themselves, and Nami can't help but gaze around at the surrounding strangers with a suspicion shining in her eyes. Something isn't right here. Something is off and she wants to know what.

"Okay," Tammi tries to sooth, her hands hovering in the space between them as if to consol Nami, "I will, just listen."

Nami settles back, wrapping her arms around her knees like a small child.

Tammi sighs, squinting her eyes and looking around her as if measuring out how best to reveal what she plans to say, "I've been working here for about five years and this is the first time anything like this had never happened, okay? This entire resort was built as a way to make a constant stream of money for higher officials. They didn't think a natural disaster like this would happen."

"But it did," Nami says, "So?"

"So, they had known about it for a while before the wave actually hit, actually."

Nami pales, feeling her fingers tighten into the skin of her legs and her toes curl further in on themselves, "For how long before?"

Tammi squirms, "For a few hours before you showed up here."

Nami gapes, feeling the anger rise up in her chest. Her cheeks became as red as her hair and she found herself snapping at Tammi, "Why didn't you say anything when we got here? No, 'hey, there's going to be a wave that's going to ruin your whole day— you should probably leave'? Nothing?"

"I ordered not to!" Tammi defends, falling to her knees in front of Nami, "Everyone was told not to. Every staff member in every building across the resort was informed about it but they were told that they'd be arrested if they said anything, do you understand?"

Nami didn't, actually. She quirked an eyebrow at Tammi, mind trying to connect what she was saying, "Arrest? Why would you get arrested? By who?"

Tammi sighs, looking to the crowd now staring at her with wide eyes and gaping mouths, "Think about it. This resort rakes in millions upon millions of bellies per day. All that money is collected by the resort's owner which is then collected by the World Government and Marines as a price for protection. Get it? Why would either of them want to lose profit?"

"To prevent thousands of people from being killed!"

Tammi snorts and Nami immediately understands her mistake.

Nami glares at the space between her and Tammi, "But, that's not how the World Government thinks."

"Apparently not."

Nami and Tammi, as well as the group around them, remain silent for several minutes. Nami had experienced the World Government and the Marines' way of taking care of an island's hardships personally. If it benefited them in any way then they didn't care what happened to the people on the island.

"So, no one wanted to risk getting arrested to save thousands of people?" Nami's voice is cold when she asks, remembering how her nakama had excitedly run out the hotel room door to go to the pool area. They had no idea— they were so excited and so was she to just relax for once. And yet…

Tammi has the sense to look guilty, "Enies Lobby is hardly the place for common folk like us. That's where we were told we'd be sent. We wouldn't make it a day in there!"

Nami blinks, pushing the hair out of her face. Enies Lobby? They really threatened to send simple resort workers to the most heavily guarded prison in the world for mentioning an impending natural disaster? Nami shivers, and suddenly she understand their hesitancy to speak up.

She gazes around at the others around her and sees the conflicting emotions in their hearts just by looking at their faces. Anger and understanding— two emotions that, when going head-to-head, really piss Nami off.

She sniffs as she moves to stand. Tammi watches her in nervous apprehension, knowing that she isn't exactly an innocent advocate of this situation. She's even more surprised when Nami reaches a hand down to help Tammi to stand, which she accepts with little more than an uncertain squint of the eyes.

"What's the plan, then?"

Tammi regards Nami quickly, shying away a moment later, "I'm not too sure, actually. We were going around helping survivors, but I haven't been able to find anyone else in a while. You were the first in hours we found alive and you didn't even come from the water."

"We were surprised to see you jump out of that window, so we came running this way as soon as we spotted you," One of the men who had helped Nami over to the building she currently resides on says from behind her.

"The building…" Nami mutters quietly.

As if on cue, the entire structure of the building quacks on its foundations, some windows popping like bubbles, sending a rain of glass shards falling down to the waters surrounding it.

Nami can almost hear the screams of the people from within the building.

"That thing…" Tammi murmurs, "Worst idea to make the building almost entirely out of glass. They were just trying to be uselessly impressive and now look at it."

"It'll be coming down any moment now, " someone else from the crowd, an older woman, says fearfully, "All those poor people…"

Nami stares at the shimmering windows and considers the crashing waves surrounding the entire block them and the building sat on. She had seen all the people inside before she jumped from the window. She saw how they all were headed to the same floor. There's no way they could have made it out from the lower floors— they were all mostly underwater by now. Eventually the flooding would disperse, but that would be a while and by them it might be too late.

Nami turns on her heel and looks to tami with a determined glimmer in her eyes, "I think I have a plan on what to do next."

 **Sanji and Brook**

"Rope?"

Sanji looks up from where he prods his swelling hand, giving Brook a quick nod as if asking him what the problem was. The boat had plenty of supplies stashed inside it in a small sealed container. Sanji had discovered it only moments after dragging Brook on board it. In his desperation to get some sort of response from the living skeleton, he had ripped off one of the seat's surfaces and found a box filled with useful supplies.

One of which happened to be rope.

"Are to completely insane?" Brook mumbles almost to himself as he measures up the length of rope, "Oh, what if something happens, Sanji-san? I can't help you!"

"I don't expect you to," Sanji says simply, taking hold of some of the bandages in the container and then putting them back immediately as he realizes the uselessness of using them now. When he gets wet they'll become practically useless anyways.

"Plus, you hurt your hand," Brook tries again to dissuade the cook from his plan, "You may find yourself in trouble down their and there will be no way for me to assist! Please, reconsider."

"No," Sanji rejects quickly, ignoring how dejected Brook appears afterwards, "This is the spot that we all must've been swept up to. See?" Sanji points his good hand down the block towards the ocean, "Over there is the hotel. We'll be going there next to try and find Nami-san, though I'm confident that she's managed to find a way out— I am."

No matter what Sanji says, Brook can tell that he's worried beyond measure. About everything. But, as always, the cook manages to seem as calm as ever.

They had floated around for hours in their attempt to find where they had been when the wave hit. The hotel, which shone like a beacon as soon as they turned onto the long street, was a relief to them both in more ways than either could realize. It meant Nami was potentially still safe inside. She was probably still waiting for some type of rescue, and, in Sanji's eyes, the rescue would be from him.

All in due time, of course.

"But, before that," Sanji says, looking away from the hotel in the distance reluctantly, "I want to scout out this area, okay? Robin-chan and the others may be around here, and we don't know what condition they're in if they are— or even if they aren't."

Brook says nothing and so Sanji tries to finish his point before Brook can try and find a fault in his plan, "Basically, we need to be on the lookout for the others, and if we see something that's our plan, okay you damn skeleton?"

Brook nods slowly— hesitantly, "Alright."

"Good,"

The cook takes a deep breath and looks out to the surrounding waters, "Robin-chan!" Sanji calls out, "Shitty captain!"

No response except for the echoing of his own voice down the flooded street.

He inhales again, "Stupid Marimo!"

Brook takes care to do the same, "Usopp-san! Franky-san!"

Still no response for either of them.

Sanji turns away from the waters with a disdainful look on his face, continuing to prod his hand.

He doesn't know much about how the hand is supposed to look and feel when it's broken. He's had plenty of broken bones— one of the great things about growing up with the Old Geezer who has a tendency to kick when agitated. Only a few times did something actually break. And even then it was minor, but he still curses the fact that the old man managed to that many times.

And even before that, when he lived with his damn family at a younger age, he accrued plenty of broken bones.

Basically, he knew the feeling and the treatment, and yet he had always taken care to not allow his hands to suffer the same fate his body did quite often. Now, Sanji thinks, his lucky streak might have simmered out.

"Damnit…"

Brook shifts uncomfortably at the cook's distress, "Sanji-san, please stop fussing over it. Allow doctor-san to take a look once we reunite."

Sanji feels his agitation grow ever so slightly but allows for himself to rein it in, "You're right. You're right," he forces his other hand to leave his damaged one alone, clutching the rim of the boat in a white-knuckled grip as he gazes out to the waters, "Better find them soon, then...where do you think they might have escaped the water too?"

Brook hums to himself, looking to the surrounding buildings, "I see no broken windows that they may have went through to find shelter, nor do I see any other boats around here that they may have found."

Sanji grimaces at the possibilities dwindling, "Maybe Luffy managed to catch onto a building's ledge on this street and got to a roof?"

"Luffy-san can't really use his abilities that well when in water…"

Sanji growls, "But, he's Luffy. He's defied logic before, hasn't he? And Robin-chan—"

"Robin-san is the same when it comes to her abilities, Sanji-san, though that hardly means that they didn't find other ways to escape the water. Perhaps there are other structures they could have climbed to safety on down a different interconnecting street?"

Sanji sighs irritably, mussing his hair with his good hand, "Yeah, yeah...probably. Let's head for the hotel and then look somewhere else, huh?"

Before Brook can answer, the musician sees something poking out from the water that catches his attention. He stares as if trying to figure out why the form looks family. Brook's silence catches Sanji's attention and the cook turns to follow Brook's gaze immediately.

His eyes widen exponentially at the sight.

"Is that—"

There, sticking out from a mess of moss and debris, just as pristine looking as it usually looked, was Zoro's sword, Kitetsu. Sanji and Brook sat staring at it for too long— fear worming its way into their stomachs.

"He— He wouldn't have just—" Sanji's voice continues to fail him, "He doesn't lose those, damnit…"

The sword floated by them, and the fact that it was getting further and further away managed to snap Sanji out of his shock-induced trance.

"Damnit!" he repeats frantically, lunging for the rope in Brook's hand, "He doesn't lose those! That shitty swordsman doesn't let those stupid sticks out of his sight and—"

Sanji manages to get the rope tied around his waist amidst the chaos ensuing inside his head and the thumping of his heart inside his chest. Even with a messed up hand he manages to tie a knot in the rope and the next thing he knows he's lunging out of the boat into the frigid water outside of it.

The water's current is still strong, and as soon as Sanji's enveloped in it he's pulled harshly in the other direction of the boat. He surfaces, spluttering and hysterically seeks out the blade he had had in his sight moments ago.

Brook is saying something from the boat. His hand feels like it's on fire. His heart is rattling against his ribcage.

Somehow, a stupid stick has managed to freak Sanji out more than the wave itself. It the water could take Zoro out, then…

Robin was with him, and Sanji realizes that the two people Zoro had been put in charge of protecting by Luffy would have sunk like rocks if Zoro had been taken out. The very thought, the very image of a lifeless Robin and Chopper— of an unconscious Zoro— floating through debris filled water without any help coming for them makes Sanji forget about the pain in his hand.

He kicks violently through the water, sending splashing up at Brook who holds tightly onto the other end of the rope. The boat is pulled by Sanji's kicks towards the blade floating elegantly through the water— careless that it's without its owner.

Sanji pushes himself onto the clump of debris and grabs hold of the blade, tugging it towards himself. He shoves his injured hand into the moss surrounding it, searching for a limp hand or a pale face— two things he never wants to imagine seeing again. Nothing— and so Sanji dives.

The marimo is probably thick in the skull enough to sink like a rock should he be in trouble, and Sanji already knows what Chopper's and Robin's fate would end up being should they have been left without help in the frigid waters.

The water hurts his eyes, but the cook swims as far down as he can before the rope snaps taut around his waist— and only then does he scan the bottom of the flooded street. He half wants to find someone, and half doesn't. His mind, though always hopeful and trusting of his nakama, can only think of the terrible images of their bodies discarded by the current.

He's seen the way raging water can tear a life apart. How it can just discard someone to a terrible fate. How him and Zeff had been forced to stay on that small island for so long. How he had almost drowned. How such a strong individual in his life had been forced to sever a limb from his body because of it.

Sanji sees nothing, and his lungs burn for air so he allows himself to swim to the surface in a wild haze.

Brook says something when he breaks the surface, Kitetsu still clutched to his chest desperately.

Sanji shudders, eyes scanning the surrounding area in a new frightened way. He doesn't know what to do— doesn't see any other sign of them being there except for the foreboding sword in his grasp, and so he does the one thing he's sure he has the motivation to do plenty.

He screams their names.

"Robin-chan! Chopper!" his voice comes out shrill and terrified, "Zoro!"

* * *

 **Heeeeeeey~**

 **Let it be know that things being late isn't just an update thing on here. I'm literally late for everything in my life. It truly is a problem.**

 **Anywho, this was more of a fun chapter to write than the last one, honestly. A lot of angst— whoot, whoot. And, though I thought Zoro, Robin, and Chopper's narrative would be the most fun to write, it was actually Sanji and Brook's little freak out at the end that was the most fun! In a...sadistic sort of way, I guess.**

 **Anywho, it be late, I wanted to chug this out tonight since I know I'll be busy the rest of the week, and I hope I manage to be on time this weekend for update!**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Farewell!**


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